He remains only the second Indian to lose his wicket while batting at 199
A century in any format of cricket is considered one of the toughest milestones. And a double and triple century? It's almost a plot from one of the Mission Impossible movies; only a few have pulled off the atrocious achievement.
However, while many Indians have hit 100s and double and triple centuries, two unfortunate batters have scored 100 but lost their wickets at 199 in Test cricket.
The first was India's former captain Mohamad Azharuddin, who got out at 199 against Sri Lanka in Kanpur in the 1986-87 series, whereas the second one is KL Rahul, who got out at 199 against England on the third day of the Chennai Test in the 2016-17 Test series.
With the exit of several senior members from the Indian Test circuit, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, all eyes will be on KL Rahul in the upcoming Test series against England.
His late-series burnout has become the point of highlight even before the series has begun. Over the years, Rahul has often started well in a series. However, a downfall followed, which tainted his Test career.
Indian cricket fans hope Rahul will repeat his feat from the 2016-2017 Chennai Test against England. In fact, fans hope to see him cross the line this time, scoring a 200.
It was a heartbreak for the Bengaluru batter, who had agonisingly fallen short after reaching 199. Not able to hold his nerves when it mattered the most, Rahul fell for a loopy leg break from Adil Rashid, and the ball landed straight into the hands of Jos Buttler.
Rahul had spent 450 minutes on the crease, facing 311 balls to score 119. His strike rate stood at 63.98, and his innings consisted of 16 fours and three sixes. In the same game, Karun Nair had grabbed headlines for his 303, whereas Parthiv Patel had scored 71 runs.
The trio helped India score a mammoth 759 runs, and ultimately, India won the game by an innings and 75 runs.
Despite the fact that Rahul had to drag himself after his shocking dismissal at a crucial juncture, KL cheered up after the game. In the post-match ceremony, Rahul had said, "I was so excited about that one run I forgot to take my time. I felt I rushed into the shot. It's more disappointing to get out to a ball like that – it hurts even more. It was just unfortunate that the pressure of getting a double hundred got to me. I am happy at the end of the day – 199 has helped my team – but missing out on a double hurts."
With no Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the upcoming series is a big opportunity for KL Rahul to establish himself as a leader in the batting line-up. Given that the rest of the batting lineup, except Ravindra Jadeja, lacks experience, Rahul is the senior figure when it comes to batting. Therefore, he will be one of the crucial members who could become the difference between victory and defeat.
